WILKES-BARRE — Some 55 years ago, Plymouth Borough was alive.
Stores lined both sides of Main Street, and they stayed open in the evenings.
The town was celebrating its centennial and men grew beards and women wore bonnets as classic cars rode up and down the street.
The high school’s basketball team won the Wyoming Valley Conference championship and copped the District 2 title before losing in a controversial game against Williamsport.
There were parades for the opening of Little League and for Halloween, as storefront windows were painted in festive scenes,
The town was safe, and it was fun and it was one.
On this past Saturday, about 40 members of the Plymouth High School Class of 1966 gathered at Happy Pizza for some great food, great music by class member Ron Edwards (formerly of the Teens back in the day) and Wayne Bevan (Class of WVW 1968.)
And there was dancing, just like in 1966 when it seemed that everybody danced in the streets of Plymouth and had every reason to do so.
It was great to go back and recall those halcyon days. Several class members brought their yearbooks — Shawnee Arrow 1966 — the final edition of that annual publication.
So I flipped through the pages, remembering just about every member of that iconic class and wondering where they all were today, since many of the 144 class members did not attend. This damn pandemic continues to ruin so much of our lives.
But those that did attend enjoyed chatting about their teachers, and each told stories that remain hilarious today. As you might expect, Coach John “Snoggy” Mergo was the most popular topic, you know, his famous “how many bones in the heart, true or false,” question and his almost daily “check to see if the big boss was in the hallway” before we would escape to the football field to play softball instead of learning boring health lessons.
“I once swam halfway across Harveys Lake,” Coach Mergo would say, “but I got tired and swam back.”
All the names were mentioned and each was recalled fondly. Even the magnificent school campus with its beautiful brick buildings, winding sidewalks and tall shade trees. And Huber Stadium and its amazing wall and the Plymouth Little League that sat adjacent.
Back in 1966 and all the years before, school spirit was a way of life. Whether it was Plymouth versus Nanticoke, West Pittston versus Exeter, Kingston versus Coughlin, Meyers versus GAR, or Avoca versus Moosic, rivalries were to live and die for. Especially on Thanksgiving Day.
Football games were played on Turkey Day back then. Thanksgiving dinner would wait until “the game” was over. Thousands of people crowded into stadiums to watch these games, and seldom did they disappoint. Rivalries can cause you to work up quite an appetite.
It was a special thrill to walk down to Huber Field in Plymouth to attend the annual Nanticoke-Plymouth football game. The place would be packed. School spirit was evident on both sides of the stadium. After the game, it was back home for turkey and all the trimmings.
Being in Plymouth again and sitting among the class of 1966 made me long to walk the Main Street like it was 1966 again. I wanted to visit all those great places that I have written about before. I wanted to get a CMP at Golden Quality — vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and marshmallow sauce with peanuts and whipped cream and a cherry on top.
I wanted to watch a movie at the Shawnee Theater and I wanted a Mergo’s hot dog and a Rea & Derick cherry Coke. I wanted to buy a pair of pants at Mitch Plessett’s Men’s Shop and a couple of comic books at C. Matus News, where I might also shoot a little 9-ball and play the six-card pinball machine.
I wanted to peer into Brodmarkel’s Store and see what actually they sold in there. I wanted to steer clear of Al Wasley Jeweler — I wasn’t ready for that diamond engagement ring in 1966. And I wanted to get a pizza and a coke at Joe’s Pizza and then walk back to C. Matus and hold up a parking meter with my besties as we watched the world go by.
And 55 years later, we still remember and enjoy those days of our youth. Of growing up and celebrating our town.
Not much is left of those Plymouth days of 1966. Red’s Subs is still there and delicious as ever. Most everything else is long gone. But the memories never die.
And at the 55th reunion of the Class of 1966, we could re-live those days — talk about them, laugh about them and cry a little about them.
Thoss really were the good old days — “Shawnee Against the World.”
And Saturday night at Happy Pizza, Shawnee really did Shine Again.